1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner capable of sterilizing various bacteria and bugs living in a dust collecting chamber thereof by circulating hot ambient air from a motor inside the dust collecting chamber.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a vacuum cleaner collects dirts or filth in the air by inhaling the air with a strong suction force which is generated due to a high pressure difference between an interior and an exterior of a body of the vacuum cleaner while the interior is sufficiently vacuumized by a motor. As the air is sucked into/let out of the body of the vacuum cleaner, the dirt or filth in the air is filtered out by a filter which is disposed within the body of the vacuum cleaner. Such a vacuum cleaner is divided into canister type, upright type, stick type, and handy type, according to the shapes thereof.
Among the above various types of the vacuum cleaner, the upright type vacuum cleaner has a suction brush 20 that is directly connected to a lower portion of the body 10 of the vacuum cleaner, as shown in FIG. 1. On the upper inner side of the body 10, a dust collecting chamber 12 having a filter 171 mounted thereon is formed, while on the lower inner side of the body 10, an accommodating chamber 13 for accommodating a motor (not shown) that generates the suction force is formed. The dust collecting chamber 12 and the accommodating chamber 13 are communicated with each other. On the front portion of the accommodating chamber 13, an exhaust port 14 is formed to let the air outside. As the motor is driven, the strong suction force is generated in the dust collecting chamber 12. A suction port 16 and the suction brush 20 formed on the body 10 of the vacuum cleaner are communicated with the dust collecting chamber 12, and are connected with each other by a suction hose (not shown). Accordingly, the air is sucked through the suction brush 20, passes through the dust collecting chamber 12 and the accommodating chamber 13, and is then let outside, while the dirt or filth in the air is filtered out by the filter 11 disposed in the dust collecting chamber 12. A reference numeral 18 refers to a front cover.
The conventional vacuum cleaner, however, has no separate device to handle various bacteria or bugs which are sucked together with the air, and once the bacteria or bugs come into the vacuum cleaner, it is easy for bacteria or the bugs to live in the dust collecting chamber 12 and/or the filter 11, and to deteriorate the sanitary conditions of the vacuum cleaner. Since the interior of the body 10 usually provides optimum conditions for the bacteria or bugs to exist, it is hard to sterilize the vacuum cleaner, and a user has the risk of catching disease.